Reports - Mississippi Renewal

132 |HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICESThe Commission recommends thata committee of health care providersbe appointed by the governor to determinethe feasibility of a RHIO accessibleto all participating providers.After addressing appropriate securityclearance and privacy issues, whichwould require patient preapprovaland adherence to privacy laws, healthcare providers, in the event of a disaster,would have to access the patient’scurrent medication profile, medicalhistory, treatment plans, and other recordsto ensure continuity of care.The appointed committee should exploregrant availability, preview existingprototypes, and perform an assessmentof potential provider and patient participation.At a minimum, a coordinatedpharmacy database for retail pharmaciesshould be created so providers canimprove continuity of care and patientsafety and reduce the potential for mistakesand system abuse during times ofemergency. South Mississippi providersshould coordinate their efforts withvarious national initiatives to developmore efficient health information technologyinfrastructure.A related long-term goal is to createa “one-stop shop” for human servicesdelivery. Creation of this systemwould be aided by converting paperbasedprocesses to digital files and usingdeveloping technology, includingInternet-based systems, for auditing andtracking. It will be possible to consolidatedata bases, eliminate duplication ofservices, and provide clients multipleaccess points to services regardless ofthe agency or program enrolling them.Workforce Retention andRecruitment■ Physician Retention. One of the mostsignificant issues that will affect theshort-term revitalization of the medicalcommunity is the retention andrecruitment of physicians who currentlyserve or will serve the coastalcommunities. Among the challengesis encouraging providers to remainin the area. While the displacementof the patient community in someareas has had a profound impact onthe financial viability of physician offices,an understanding of the renewalefforts underway in South Mississippi,many of which are outlined in thisreport, should encourage physicianfamilies to be a part of the recoveryprocess and lead to other physiciansto come to the Coast and be a partof its recovery. As plans for the futurematerialize, the state’s recovery accomplishmentsshould be formallycommunicated to the medical community.Opportunities on the GulfCoast should be aggressively marketedto healthcare providers nationwide toensure that physicians fully realize therevitalization efforts underway and theaccomplishments achieved. Establishmentof a formal residency program atone or more Coast hospitals also mayenhance recruitment and retentionefforts. Hospitals are encouraged toevaluate residency programs, identifypotential funding sources, and workfor the development of a program.■ Incentives for Serving Low-IncomePatients and Disaster Victims. TheCommission recommends that thestate submit a state plan amendmentto the Center for Medicare and MedicaidServices (CMS), modeled onthose recently approved in other states,to establish a supplemental physicianretention payment based upon averagecommercial payor rates. Physicianspracticing in designated PresidentialDisaster Areas would be eligible forthe program.■ Nurse and Other Health Care WorkerRetention. Educational opportunitiesshould be broadened for potentialnursing students, including providingadditional resources to communitycolleges and universities to increase capacityand to recruit students to theirprograms. Consideration should alsobe given to a coordinated marketingof health care careers to high-schoolstudents with a long-term objectiveof promoting careers in the industry.■ State Insurance Pool. The Commissionrecommends that the Commissionerof Insurance consider the establishmentof a State Insurance Poolfor health care providers for businessinterruption coverage in the event of adisaster. The pool would be establishedexclusively for salary/wage continuationto affected healthcare workers inorder to foster employee retention.